People sometimes ask me – who’s that black sheep with you in your author photo? He’s a little guy I watched being born during one of Heifer International’s Women’s Lambing Programs at Overlook Farm in Rutland, Massachusetts. I’ve attended several of these wonderful sessions, with sheep and goats. It had to be the black sheep I posed with because of the long tradition of romance heros who are black sheep. (Wiki says the idiom arises from a genetic quirk in sheep, but readers know the black sheep as an engaging rogue.) In my most recent historical romance The Bride Insists, the hero is a bit of a black sheep. Jamie Boleigh, seventh Baron Trehearth, can’t be blamed for running a little wild. He’s been struggling nearly all his life to salvage an estate teetering on the verge of ruin. His mother died giving birth to his twin sisters, and he lost his father in ambiguous circumstances the following year. Aged sixteen, he had to take over managing ancestral acres that were falling to pieces and mortgaged to the hilt. He loves every inch of Trehearth. The thought of losing it is agonizing. He tries everything he can think of, but…

I’m starving! This was the primary thought on my mind while I was writing my new release, DESPERATELY SEEKING SUZANNA. I was mid-diet when I started writing this story, running on the treadmill every day, surviving on nuts and berries in an attempt to fit into a slinky dress for an event. So, is it surprising there are a great deal of scenes involving food in this story? Not really. Holden and Sue snack from the night they meet to the end of Desperately Seeking Suzanna. There is always a bowl of candy or a table of refreshments at a ball, over which they hover. But, it isn’t just any food they share a fondness for, it’s a fondness for sweets and more specifically chocolate. Some authors speak of themes of injustice or redemption in their stories, in this book there’s a theme of chocolate. *grins* That’s right, lovely, tasty ribbons of chocolate are woven through Sue and Holden’s story. In this scene, Holden has just taken Sue’s sketches from her while she sat drawing in the park—where she thought she was alone. She’s nervously watching him look through her artwork, but before long their conversation turns to—what else? Chocolate….

Like many writers, I’ve always been a reader. There’s a special place in my heart for literature, whether classic or modern: Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, George Orwell, Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver, the list goes on. I’m pursuing a Master’s degree in Literature; I teach high school English; I’ve loaded my ereader with every classic available from Project Gutenberg. Many people are surprised, then, to learn that I write erotic romance. When I tell them, there’s a moment of hesitation, a slow blink, maybe a stammer. How can I, a well-educated lover of literature and a professional in my field, read and write those kind of books? It’s difficult for them to reconcile their conflicting stereotypes. To be honest, I love that reaction. I love catching people off-guard and making them question all their preconceived notions about who reads and writes romance, especially erotic romance. Most of all, I love my genre. Erotic romance combines the best of two categories. Erotica has all the hot sex a person could want, described in toe-curling titillating detail. Romance has the guaranteed happy ending; those two characters are going to fall in love. Putting them together creates erotic romance: a character’s sexual journey leading…

Ach! I’ve always loved cowboys! Growing up, I have vivid memories of my father watching endless Clint Eastwood westerns. Clint was my kind of cowboy-strong, silent, handsome. In romances, the cowboy is a long-standing beloved hero archetype. Here’s my top ten list for must-have character traits for any cowboy hero I write (in no particular order): Hardworking Strong Loyal Brave A Protector Stubborn Rugged Confident Loving Tender Obviously he can’t be all those things with all people, but those are integral to the man that he is. In my new release, THE RANCHER’S SECOND CHANCE, Cole Forrester is a strong man with a very tender side. He’s a widower and he’s closed himself off to finding love again. In comes Melanie Simms, city girl and good friend to his little sister. Melanie is a woman who has it all together on the outside, but she’s running from a past that continues to haunt her. She’s been hurt before and has a hard time with trust. She unknowingly brings out Cole’s protective, caring side and soon they are unable to fight the pull they feel. Both these characters are so real and are dealing with the kind of pain that many…

Laney Holt is the ultimate good girl. As the preacher’s daughter, she has lived a sheltered lifestyle, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t ever been tempted once or twice to be bad. Jake Theopolis is as bad as they come, and he enjoys tempting the good girl in ways he knows she likes. A few stolen kisses show that Laney Holt isn’t immune to his charm, and he uses that to his advantage. What he doesn’t know is that Laney has been betrayed by the two closest people she trusted and still hasn’t gotten over it. In a story about gaining trust, Jake and Laney travel the bumpy journey of what it means to fully give their heart to someone else. M. Leighton’s second installment of The Wild Ones series is the perfect summer beach read. With its simple, yet eloquent writing and engaging characters, readers can lounge around in the sun, enjoying a sexy story while sipping a drink. Striking a balance between sexy and sweet, Laney’s character turned out to be quite wonderful. Though she is hurting and is often restricted on what she can and cannot do, she didn’t come across as stupidly rash or impulsive whenever…

Is there one event in your childhood that changed who you became as a grownup? One interaction with someone that changed the way you saw the world? One mistake that opened your eyes to new possibilities? One moment in time that shifted your path left or right? Mine came by way of my sister who took time out of her busy teenaged life for her snot-nosed little sister. Sitting on the porch of our old farm house on a summer day, she began reading a chapter book to me that changed the way I dream. Not the night kind of dreams that are random and weird, but those that dominate my mind in every quiet moment and eventually led me to put those dreams down on paper to entertain others. The book was FOLK OF THE FARAWAY TREE by Enid Blyton. Although I’d watched television and gone to the movies once or twice, I hadn’t understood just how far away from reality a person’s imagination could take them until I met Moon face, Dame Washalot, Mr. Watizisname, and Saucepan Man. Other worlds that appear at random at the top of a tree? And each of those worlds was full of…

My younger sister, Katy had dated a guy named Steve Walton when she was in college. I remembered him as a skinny beer-drinking kid. So you can imagine my surprise when I found out Steve was Lieutenant Steve Walton in charge Detroit Police Homicide Squads Three and Four, now a buttoned-up, experienced professional. I called him, reintroduced myself and asked if I could spend some time with homicide and observe how murders were investigated and solved. After getting clearance from the top brass I was in business. I was assigned to the afternoon shift: four till midnight. I would arrive and talk to detectives for a while and then read old case files. I would study the often grisly crime scene photos, the lifeless body of a man or woman, shot and laying in a pool of blood. I would read the investigator’s report. I would look at photos of the body taken by the medical examiner, close up detail of the entrance and exit wounds. I would study the ballistics information, lab tests done on shell casings and bullet fragments to determine what kind of weapon fired the fatal shot or shots. It was a fascinating glimpse into the…

I am writing this note to you before everything is set to happen. You know, just in case I don’t make it out of here alive. I really appreciate you taking the time to read my manuscript, and if I’m still around by the time you’re done… hey. I’d love to hear what you think. Sincerely, Zacchaeus Miller That’s me. I’m the protagonist in Dennis Nehamen‘s MISTAKEN ENEMY, the first in a series of Zach Miller Thrillers. Revealing that I did live to tell my story gives away little—there were lots of shocking, mysterious and terrifying moments along the journey that I’ll refrain from revealing. Most important, besides my survival, is that I grew as a person from the experiences I was forced to endure. Looking back at myself when I left for Israel, I’d have to say I was an early thirties young man needing to find a purpose. I wrote but was never inspired from the deeper well of my soul. Then I met Jivin, a mystic Mescalero Indian boy…and everything changed. It was toward the end of the adventure when we had a discussion I’d like to share. “So what you’re saying is our lives are beyond…

Thanks so much for having me here today, so I can shout about the fact that Free Falling’s getting a re-release with Riptide! I’m so excited about this, you have no idea. For me, this is the book that started the Hell or High Water series (see below for more on that). Free Falling originally came out in December of 2012—it was the first book I self-published, and I worked with Sarah Frantz as my editor (and she’s now my Riptide editor as well) and the entire experience was simply awesome. This would also be the second book Prophet inserted himself into (the first was Bound For Keeps). It was then I realized that the man needed his own series or else he would show up in every single book I wrote. But for FREE FALLING, it certainly cemented the bond between Blue and Prophet. I’ve brought Blue and Mick back in Long Time Gone (Hell or High Water 2) and yes, I’m totally planning a Free Falling sequel, which would happen sometime post DIRTY LOVE (Dirty Deeds 3). Because I can’t get enough of Blue, my favorite thief, and Mick, the man who’ll chase him every single time. The…

Entangled Publishing is so excited for their new release, MUSTANG SASSY as it deals with something we all dread and hate… break ups. On the one hand, it can be good to dump all that unwanted weight of a cheating boyfriend. But being the dumpee? *Shudders* That’s when things sometimes go bad. It got us to thinking. Everyone has a worst break up story, and so we are challenging you to share that story. The worse the better, hold no punches… Although it may be tough to beat Sass’s story, so good luck! Share your worst break up story in the comments below! Entries will get 10 extra points in the giveaway below for a kindle paperwhite. In the meantime, we’ve got a story of our own from Casey. She’s kicking things off with her worst break up story. It’s the story of how she broke up with her high school boyfriend… “My senior year of high school, I started dating my friend’s older brother. (Yeah, I was the cool high school student dating a college boy.) He was so sweet and attentive, never pressured me to do anything – basically, he was perfect and I was content. I wasn’t…